Scenic Group plans to increase its trade business and grow the number of trade partner it works with, according to new UK and Ireland managing director Richard Twynam.
A “couple of large” UK agency businesses don’t work with Scenic Group, said Twynam, who added one agency he is targeting “doesn’t sell river cruising” currently.
Twynam explained that Scenic Group would be working with the unnamed travel retailers “by the end of the first quarter” of 2023.
He admitted Scenic Group’s trade business had “fluctuated” throughout 2022 but added: “We’re going to be growing the trade part of our business.
“We’ve got a couple of very large trade partners we don’t work with today that we’re going to be working with by the end of the first quarter.”
Twynam, who held several freelance and part-time roles in travel after leaving four-ship line Azamara in 2020, said “many people” across the industry had contacted after he took up the UK and Ireland managing director position at Scenic Group last month.
He said: “There are opportunities everywhere, but the challenge is just prioritising and getting into to it.”
Ahead of peaks, Twynam outlined how the company, which operates Scenic and Emerald Cruises, wanted to be in control of the delivery of its turn-of-year campaign.
“We want to own what we’re doing,” he said. “We’ve got some really good plans in terms of what’s going on in the world and how demand is going to be.”
With the UK entering a recession, Twynam said in his experience consumers “really try and keep their holiday” and cut back their spending in other areas as the economy shrinks.
“We’ve got products that can help our agents and our clients in this [economic] situation. We’re planning a robust campaign,” he said.
But he warned: “What demand is going to look like is too hard to call.”